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Former BSI Singapore banker hauled to court amid 1MDB probe faces 2 more charges
The Swiss bank BSI’s Singapore office at Suntec City Tower 1. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Published 8 hours ago
Amir Hussain
SINGAPORE - A former Singaporean private banker who was charged with receiving benefits from criminal conduct faces two new counts - cheating and perverting the course of justice.
Yeo Jiawei, 33, a former wealth planner with the Singapore unit of Swiss private bank BSI, was first charged with an offence under the the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act on April 16.
He allegedly received S$200,000 in his Bank of China account on or around Jan 30, 2013. The amount represented his benefits from cheating.
While no mention has been made in court of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Bloomberg had reported that Mr Yeo was charged with money laundering following investigations into the money flows of IMDB, a Malaysian state fund, whose advisory board is headed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
In court on Thursday (April 28), Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck successfully argued for Yeo's continued remand and denial of access to lawyers.
Mr Kwek called the case the most complex ever handled by the police's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and involved multiple jurisdictions and a staggering amount of money.
In making his case, Mr Kwek noted that investigations are very much alive, with statements recorded from Yeo on April 24 to 27 and earlier on Thursday (April 28).
Mr Kwek said multiple witnesses continue to be interviewed and fresh evidence, including that from foreign authorities, were still garnered. Mr Yeo may have attempted to subvert the evidence of other witnesses before his arrest, said Mr Kwek.
Yeo's close family members are also under investigation for money laundering, he added.
1MDB has been fined by Malaysia's central bank for failing to comply with bank rules.
Yeo's lawyer, Mr Philip Fong, managing partner of Harry Elias Partnership, argued that denying his client bail and access to his lawyers would be in breach of his presumption of innocence, and his constitutional right of access to counsel, thus making a mockery of fundamental liberties.
Yeo has deep roots in Singapore and has a three-year-old daughter, Mr Fong added.
Dressed in an orange polo shirt and handcuffed with his hands in front of him, Yeo displayed little emotion as he listened intently to the half-hour court proceedings via video-link.
District Judge Christopher Goh allowed Yeo to be remanded for an additional week at Central Police Division, with permission for him to be taken out for investigations.
The case will be mentioned again on May 5.
This is the third time that the State has applied to remand Yeo.
The judge also granted the prosecution's application to deny him access to lawyers.
Yeo's charges in Singapore are the latest twist in the 1MDB saga, with the authorities in Malaysia, Switzerland, the US and Luxembourg also investigating claims that the fund was used to funnel money to politically-connected individuals.
BSI handled accounts for 1MDB and parties including Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments PJSC, an entity the fund did business with, and Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, according to documents entered into Singapore's High Court as part of an effort by another former BSI private banker to unfreeze assets.
The former banker, Mr Yak Yew Chee, had attempted to sue the Singapore Government in order to gain access to some of about S$10 million in his bank accounts frozen by the authorities as part of their 1MDB probe.
The Singapore authorities said in February that they had seized a large number of bank accounts over possible money-laundering and other offences linked to alleged financial mismanagement at 1MDB. Most of the bank accounts were seized in the second half of 2015.
The CAD and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have been investigating possible offences relating to 1MDB since the middle of last year.
Mr Yak was one of several senior employees who have left, or are said to be leaving the BSI Singapore in recent months.
S'porean accused of cheating BSI on 1MDB funds, asking another person to lie to police
Amir Hussain
A Singaporean former private banker linked to troubled Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was yesterday charged with cheating which involved money from the fund, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Yeo Jiawei, 33, a former wealth planner with the Singapore unit of Swiss private bank BSI, has been remanded since he was first charged with receiving benefits from criminal conduct. He is accused of receiving $200,000 in his Bank of China account on or around Jan 30, 2013.
Yesterday, he was charged with cheating BSI by dishonestly concealing from his former employer that he would receive about US$1.6 million (S$2.1 million) a year through a firm he controlled, as part of an annual management fee paid by Brazen Sky, a subsidiary of 1MDB, to a Cayman Islands firm, Bridge Partners Investment Management.
"
Thus BSI, according to the charge against Yeo, was dishonestly induced into entering into a referral agreement with the Cayman firm, for 0.53 per cent of assets under its management.
This is the first time that a 1MDB-related entity has been mentioned in a Singapore court. News agency Bloomberg had earlier reported that Yeo's first charge on April 16 was the result of probes into the money flows of 1MDB, whose advisory board is headed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The case is 'without doubt, the most complex cross-border investigation' that the police's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has ever been involved in, Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck said.
Yeo was yesterday also charged with asking another person, Mr Samuel Goh Sze-Wei, to falsely tell police that money Mr Goh transferred to the same firm under Yeo's control was Mr Goh's investment.
Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck successfully applied for Yeo's continued custody and denial of access to lawyers - the State's third such application to date.
In a half-hour court session, Mr Kwek told District Judge Christopher Goh that the case is "without doubt, the most complex cross-border investigation" that the police's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) had ever been involved in.
"It involved several jurisdictions, numerous corporate entities, multiple transactions spanning several years (2011-2015), and a staggering amount of monies," he said.
"Investigations to date reveal that this accused has had a significant role in the movement of large amounts of monies and the concealment of transactions."
He said statements have been taken from Yeo daily since Sunday, and multiple witnesses have been and are still being interviewed, giving rise to fresh evidence.
Yeo's close family members are also under investigation for money laundering, Mr Kwek said.
Prior to his arrest last month, Yeo had access to lawyers, and is "fully aware of his rights and the nature of investigatory procedures", Mr Kwek added. "In fact, the accused himself has given 'advice' to other witnesses, telling one witness that he should 'play poker' with the CAD."
Yeo's lawyer, Mr Philip Fong, managing partner of Harry Elias Partnership, argued otherwise. "There is no reason to continue to hold him indefinitely in breach of the presumption of innocence and, worse still, deny him his constitutional right to counsel," he said.
Yeo, whose passport has been impounded, has deep roots in Singapore and has a daughter aged three, Mr Fong said.
With two weeks since his arrest, and seven months since he was called to assist in investigations, the lawyer said the authorities have had more than enough time. "It would make a mockery of our fundamental liberties if access to counsel is refused on mere speculation that talking to a lawyer would make the accused more uncooperative."
Dressed in an orange polo shirt and handcuffed with his hands in front of him, Yeo displayed little emotion as he listened intently to the court session via video link.
The case will be mentioned in court again on May 5.
Yeo's charges in Singapore are the latest twist in the 1MDB saga, with the authorities in Malaysia, Switzerland, the US and Luxembourg also investigating claims that the fund was used to funnel money to politically connected individuals.
Separately, Malaysia's central bank yesterday said it has fined 1MDB an unspecified amount for failing to comply with bank rules.
Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei faces two more charges of cheating, hearing on bail continues
Former BSI Bank wealth planner Yeo Jiawei faces two more charges of cheating, bringing the total number of charges he faces to nine.ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Published 7 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
Former BSI Bank wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, 33, was slapped with two more charges of cheating on Tuesday (May 24), bringing the total number of charges he faces to nine.
Yeo, who has been in remand for 38 days, is accused of deceiving BSI by dishonestly concealing that he would receive through Bridgerock Investment - a firm controlled by him - a portion of the fees paid to Pacific Harbor Holdings.
He had gotten BSI to enter into an agreement in August 2013 with Pacific Harbour Holdings, the investment manager of Pacific Harbor Global Growth.
He also allegedly concealed from BSI that he would receive, through Bridgerock Investment, a portion of the management fees paid to Devonshire Capital Management.
Yeo had induced BSI to enter into an agreement with Devonshire in February that year.
Yeo's lawyer, Senior Counsel Harry Elias, and the prosecution also argued for and against granting of bail yesterday.
Mr Elias said only two of the nine charges were non-bailable, and argued that there was no risk of Yeo absconding as his roots are here.
Yeo, he said, is prepared to give a written undertaking not to contact any possible victims or anyone.
He accused the prosecution of wanting to keep Yeo in "perpetual remand'', and said his client needs to be bailed out so he could take meaningful instructions from him. He suggested bail to be in the region of $200,000 to $400,000.
Opposing bail, Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck said while Yeo was out on police bail in March, he breached his bail conditions by contacting witnesses to "collaborate'' stories to provide a "consistent response'' to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) if questioned.
Yeo also met Kelvin Ang Wee Keng, 34, who has since been charged with corruption. Mr Kwek said Yeo had also contacted another individual and told him to destroy evidence and make himself unavailable for questioning by the CAD.
Investigations showed that Yeo appeared to have been in contact with "key figures'' who are central to the web of transactions being investigated up to the point of his arrest, he said.
Mr Kwek added that Yeo had no compunction perverting the course of justice, as he had tried to contact no less than five witnesses on no less than five occasions.
"There is a real risk of further tampering with witnesses if the accused is released on bail. There is a strong public interest against the granting of bail,'' he said.
Investigations are on-going, the court heard.
District Judge Christopher Goh will give his decision on bail tomorrow afternoon.
